


School days

by OceanLyric



Series: Life at a glance. [2]
Category: BSB, NSYNC, Popslash
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, Multi, alturnate universe, anxt with a happy ending, friendship and love ftw, going back to school, working in a mall
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-23 18:46:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20344927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanLyric/pseuds/OceanLyric
Summary: Nick and Justin decide to go back to school. This causes various ripples.





	School days

“I can’t believe the summer’s over.” Justin sighs as he gazes at the sky. Nick nods beside him.  
“I here you, baby. Just think. This time next week, we’ll be doing homework.”  
“Don’t remind me.” Justin groans.  
“It’s your own fault.” Chris chuckles as he approaches.  
“Shut up. Just because you’ve got the job you’ve always dreamed of and didn’t have to finish college to get it.” Nick glares over at the shorter man. Chris flops down beside them, an unreadable expression taking over his face for a moment.  
“Sometimes I look at you guys and wish I had.” He sighs. Two pairs of eyes stare at him.  
“Just because I love my job, doesn’t mean it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. I used to want to teach music, not sell it. I used to think I could make a difference. Then I was slapped with reality. You’re still young, embrace it. Learn all you can, become successful. Live your dreams.” Chris usually isn’t this serious or philosophical and they’re both concerned. But then he shakes his head and grins and he’s back to the Chris they know and love.  
“What are we talking about?” Howie is there then, gracefully plopping down beside his boyfriend on the bottom step of the apartment building.  
“School.” The three of them chorus. Howie nods.  
“You ready?” he asks.  
“Not much choice, now, is there?” Nick rolls his eyes.  
“So? How was it?” Kevin asks about a week later when they’re all gathered in his and Joey’s apartment.  
“You know something? I think I can actually do this.” Justin grins. Nick is silent.  
“Chaos?” Lance looks over at his friend.  
“It’s harder than I thought.” Nick admits, quietly.  
“How can you tell? It’s only been a week.” JC points out.  
“Exactly. It’s only been a week and it’s already harder than I thought. I don’t know…” he trails off. Justin pulls him close.  
“You’ll be fine, sugar. Even if Chris ends up helping you with your homework, you’ll make it.” Nick smiles slightly at this.  
“Thanks, Sweetie.”  
“Can you believe finals are next week?” Eric groans as he falls onto the couch in Nick and Justin’s apartment some months later.  
“I know, where’d September go?” Ashley agrees, joining him.  
“Let’s get our study on, boys.” Nick sighs as he enters, Justin on his heels. When finals are over, Justin thinks Nick’s feeling more capable at school. Or at least, he thinks so until his boyfriend starts coming in late. At first Nick gives plausible excuses about having an appointment with a professor, but soon enough, he stops making excuses altogether.  
“What’s the matter, Curly?” AJ’s the one who asks some months later when Justin’s sitting on the couch in his and JC’s place, staring blankly into space. Justin sighs deeply, but doesn’t reply. AJ sits beside him and waits. In less than five minutes, Justin cracks.  
“Have I changed?” he asks and AJ blinks, confused.  
“What?”  
“Am I different than I was when Nick and I started going out?” Slowly, AJ nods, catching on.  
“Not that I’ve noticed, why?”  
“Well…” and Justin pauses to rub at his face and gather his thoughts before explaining about Nick’s late nights.  
“Hate to suggest the obvious, but have you asked him what’s up?” Justin sighs again.  
“I can’t.”  
“Why not?” now AJ is really confused.  
“I’ve tried. He stopped telling me a while back.”  
“Have you told him how you feel?”  
“I have to find the right words first.” Justin sighs again.  
“Words for what?” and Nick is there, looking curious in the doorway.  
“I’ve got work.” AJ says as he almost bolts for the door. Before Nick can ask what’s going on, Justin stands and walks to him.  
“We need to talk.” And he heads for home. Nick follows, still confused.  
“What’s up?” Nick asks, not liking the tightness in his stomach. The tone Justin used makes him nervous. Justin doesn’t speak for a long time, instead walking around, rearranging things. Finally, Nick grabs his hand as he goes to move one of the couch cushions for the third time.  
“Baby, you’re scaring me, what’s up?” Justin falls gracelessly onto the couch and the tightness in Nick’s stomach increases because Justin is always graceful, always. Slowly, carefully, he joins his boyfriend. Still, Justin doesn’t speak, but Nick can tell he’s thinking by the way he keeps clasping and unclasping his hands in his lap. Finally, Justin lets out a deep breath and takes the plunge.  
“Are you still in this?” Nick blinks.  
“What?”  
“This, us, are you still…” Justin trails off, spreading his hands to indicate the both of them, as well as the apartment. Nick’s eyes widen in surprise and Justin can see the genuine shock and a flicker of hurt.  
“I…yes, why would you…” he can’t even get a complete sentence out, he’s so caught off guard. Justin had planned to phrase it better, but given the current circumstances, it all just comes out in a flood.  
“Because you’re never here and you won’t even tell me where you are and I don’t even know if you’re attracted to me anymore and…” Nick puts up his hands, but the words keep coming. When Justin has finished, there are tears on his face and he absently wonders where they came from. The second thing he notices is that Nick has pulled him into his arms and is wiping at the tears with his thumb.  
“No, baby, no. I’m still in this.” Justin pulls back and sniffs pitifully before looking up at his blond lover.  
“Then how come you stopped telling me…” Nick brushes his lips across Justin’s brow, cutting him off.  
“I didn’t think you’d want to know. You never seemed interested when I told you before, so I stopped.” Now it’s Justin’s turn to blink in confusion.  
“What?” Nick chuckles and explains that he’s been having some trouble, so he’s been meeting with some of his professors after class for extra help. Justin lets out a sigh and falls forward into Nick’s still open arms.  
“So, is the help helping?” Justin manages to ask once he’s pulled himself together again. Nick shrugs.  
“Well, my grades are up.”  
“But?” Justin pries, sensing there’s more to it than that.  
“I still don’t think I can do it.” Justin opens his mouth to reassure him, but Nick continues before he can.  
“What I mean is, I’m thinking of changing majors. Marine biology is for me, like Psychology is for you. In practice, it’s amazing, but getting to the point where I can actually practice it is the problem.” Justin nods.  
“What were you thinking of switching to?”  
”A major in art with a minor in education. I’ve been thinking about what Chris said. I’d like to make a difference and I think teaching art is the best way to do it.” Justin notices that as Nick explains his new plan, he seems to come alive. The following Friday, as they’re off to tell the guys of Nick’s brand new master plan over bowling and pizza, something of a tradition they started over the summer, they pause as they hear shouting coming from behind Chris and Howie’s door. They can’t make out the words, but they do clearly hear something shatter as it is thrown.  
“Should we knock?” Justin asks, his eyes wide. Nick shrugs. He’s not sure either. In the end, they decide it’s not their place and continue down the hall to Kevin and Joey’s apartment, both of them hoping the couple works it out before joining the rest of them. A few minutes after they’ve sat down, Howie walks in, radiating anger and wisely, no one comments. After a few more moments of increasingly awkward silence, Chris walks in, moving to stand as far from his boyfriend as possible. Brian looks between them, but says nothing, instead enquiring about whether they want to do pizza there or just grab something at the Alley. Howie and Chris give conflicting responses, but everyone chooses to eat while bowling and the matter is settled. When piling into the van, Chris squeezes between Nick and Brian in the back while Howie sits beside JC and AJ in the middle. The trip is unusually silent until Joey starts singing “The hardest part of breaking up is getting back your stuff” under his breath. Before they know it, everyone is laughingly joining in on the chorus, except the feuding couple who are glaring at one another. Once they arrive, and all the food has been procured, the problem becomes choosing teams. It’s obvious they can’t put Chris and Howie together, but no one really wants to be on a team with either of them like this. Nick and Joey finally decide they’ll take Chris, while AJ and Brian grumble until Nick glares their protests into silence. They barely make it through the first frame when apparently, in a fit of temper, Howie throws his ball with so much force that it actually leaves a dent in the wall behind the pins and Kevin suggests they head home. The drive back is equally silent, save Nick and Brian who keep trying to beat each other at thumb wrestling while Joey and AJ urge them on. When they all troop inside, Howie pauses at his door, takes one look at Chris, and walks down the hall to AJ and JC’s door and waits for them to catch up. Chris stares a hole in the back of his head from where he’s still standing. AJ simply unlocks the door and lets Howie in first. When he’s found some blankets and a spare pillow and has made up the couch, he flops onto one end while Howie falls beside him. JC busies himself with showering. He knows that Howie wouldn’t mind if he heard, but there are times, like now, when he realizes AJ and Howie are somehow closer than he and AJ will ever manage to be. It doesn’t bother him, He and Justin have a similar connection.  
“So, you want to talk about it?” AJ prompts softly. Howie shakes his head. AJ waits. Finally, the shorter man sighs.  
“Everything was fine, but then today, it wasn’t. We were just putsing around the apartment, cleaning and whatever, until we had to join you guys. When I came across this box of old things, pictures and school awards and stuff, we started going through it and when we got to my graduation picture, he asked me if I wished he was smarter. I laughed it off, made some joke and then he was yelling about how I never took him seriously and it just progressed from there. I said things I never meant to and I hurt him. I never wanted to hurt him. He’s been the best thing in my life for the past almost nine years and I had no idea there was all this rage inside him. I have no idea where it came from and now he won’t talk to me, so I can’t ask.”  
“That’s some seriously heavy stuff, D.” AJ says after processing it all.  
“Don’t I know it?” Howie lets out a bark of humourless laughter.  
Nick jolts awake suddenly and he’s not sure why. The first thing he notices when his eyes flutter open is Justin sitting on the side of the bed, his body twisted to look at him. The light from the window offers just enough light so that his naked chest seems to glow and Nick is inspired suddenly. Before he realizes it, he’s reaching into the drawer for his sketchpad and a pencil. Justin opens his mouth to ask what he’s doing, but Nick shushes him. For the next few minutes, the only sounds in the room are that of their soft breathing and the scratch of the pencil. Once he’s finished drawing, Nick sets the pad aside and sits up, absently glancing at the clock and noticing that it’s after 3 A.M.  
“Hey, why are you up? It’s late.” Justin shrugs and the sheet that’s wrapped around his waist slides a little lower. Nick reaches out and pulls him close.  
“What’s up, Baby?” Justin sighs, leaning into the embrace, but doesn’t elaborate for a moment. Nick waits, patiently.  
“It’s just,” Justin begins and then pauses. He shifts a little, pressing closer to his lover and pulling the sheet up around them.  
“Howie and Chris. I’ve never seen them fight and this seems like it could be really bad.” Nick’s intake of breath is sharp and Justin knows he knows where this is going by the way his arms tighten around him.  
“We’re good, promise. I’m worried about them too, but we, are, good.” He emphasises the last statement and Justin relaxes. He knows it’s irrational, but if Nick feels the way he does, he thinks its ok. The next afternoon, Justin comes in to find Nick sitting at their kitchen table, charcoal pastels laid out before him, and the blond hard at work.  
“What’re you working on?” Nick blinks in surprise as he looks up and tries to hide the picture. Justin frowns.  
“What is it?” he tries again.  
“I’ll show you when it’s finished, promise.” Nick assures him. Justin nods. A few minutes later, Nick has signed his name and dated the picture with a flourish. Reaching across the table, he taps his lover. Justin looks up from the book he’s reading.  
“You done?” Nick nods and slides the picture over. Justin takes a long look at it and is silent. Nick fidgets as he waits for a reaction.  
“It’s me.” Justin says, in awe, a few minutes later.  
“Yeah. I was inspired last night.” Justin has a flash of memory and smiles.  
“But it’s me.” Apparently the shock hasn’t worn off yet. Nick chuckles.  
“Yeah.”  
“It’s amazing.” Nick blushes and shrugs.  
“Not really.”  
“It is!” Justin insists.  
“I guess.”  
“I’ll prove it.” And before Nick can ask how, Justin is up and heading for the door. With a strangled cry, Nick is after him. It’s not that he doesn’t want their friends to see what he’s done, it’s just he’s never really been good at being the center of attention. Justin pounds on JC and AJ’s door first. He blinks when Howie is the one to open it. He recovers quickly enough, however, and thrusts the drawing at the Latino.  
“Look what Nick drew.” Howie looks and seems just as captivated as Justin.  
“Nick, that’s…wow. Hey guys, come look at this!” and then the other two are there, looking over his shoulders at what Justin is still holding.  
“Nick drew it.” Justin says, his voice bursting with pride. Nick just stands back, hoping they’ll forget he’s there.  
“What’s all this?” Chris asks from behind him. Justin pivots quickly, his hand still outstretched.  
“Look, Nick drew it.” Chris gazes from the drawing to Justin to Nick In wonder.  
“You’ve got skills, junior.” And Chris hugs him. Nick blushes and tries to shrug his words off.  
“You guys have to say stuff like that, you’re my friends.”  
“Stuff like what?” Kevin asks, as He, Joey, Lance and Brian walk over. Chris gestures to the drawing Justin is still holding out.  
“Nick did it.” He explains.  
“Nick, that’s…don’t take this the wrong way, but you made him look so doable.” Lance says in absolute astonishment. Brian, Nick and Justin all gape at him.  
“Excuse me?” Joey finally brakes the awkward silence.  
“Just look at him.” Lance insists. Nervously, Justin steps back, knocking into Howie and they both go down, hard. Nick races over to Justin and helps him up. Howie lays on the floor, dazed. Unthinking, Chris races over to his boyfriend and gazes down at him.  
“Are you ok?” Howie blinks in surprise and Chris’s lip quivers.  
“No.” and Howie stands and attempts to brush past him. Chris grabs his hand and drags him down the hall in the direction of their apartment. Silently, Nick picks up his fallen drawing and smoothes it out. Once they’re in the apartment, Chris lets go of Howie’s hand and they stand staring at one another. Howie makes for the door after a moment.  
“Wait.”  
“What?”  
“Look, can we talk?”  
“Do we have anything to talk about?”  
“Let me explain, please?” Howie falls onto the couch. Chris paces in front of him, chewing on his lip as he gathers his thoughts.  
“You’re probably wondering where all that anger came from.” Howie remains silent and Chris continues after a pause.  
“Well, I guess it’s been building up for a while.” His knees give out and he falls down beside Howie.  
“You remember that day just before Nick and Justin started school when you found us talking out front?” Howie nods slightly.  
“I told them about how I wanted to teach music, not sell it. I never got the chance to follow that dream after high school because just after graduation, my dad…” and he pauses to pull himself back together. Howie nods again, hoping his expression says Chris can gloss over that part. After a minute, he does.  
“And anyway, the long and short of it is, once everything was taken care of, there wasn’t enough money left over for me to go to community college, much less venture out of state. Besides, I didn’t really want to leave mom and the girls. I figured I’d work for a bit, earn enough and apply in a year or two, but then I started working at the music store and I really enjoyed it and I figured college could wait a little longer. When we met, I figured I didn’t need anything else, but then when Nick and Justin decided they were going back, all those thoughts came rushing back and I didn’t know how to handle them. That picture was the last straw and I’m sorry. It was wrong of me to blame you for my own shortcomings. Can you forgive me?” Howie sits silently for a long moment and Chris waits. Finally, Howie stands. Chris thinks he’s going to bolt, but instead, Howie holds out his hand. Grasping it, Chris stands and his boyfriend studies him from an arm’s length away. He takes in everything from Chris’ Ernest expression and the unkempt state of his hair, to the ratty jeans and his socked feet. When he’s finished, he nods once.  
“OK.”  
“OK?”  
“OK.” Chris grins and throws himself at his boyfriend.  
“Might I make a suggestion?” Howie speaks once they separate. Chris nods.  
“You do realize you can still go back, right?” Chris ponders this for a moment before shaking his head.  
“I can’t. It’s been far too long and now that I’ve really given it some consideration, I don’t know if I want to anymore.”  
“If ever you do, I’ll support you.”  
“I know you will, sweet D.” and they kiss.  
“You think they’re alright in there?” Joey asks concernedly. The rest of them are clustered outside the couple’s apartment. They’ve been there for about ten minutes now.  
“Well, either one of them is smothering the other, or they’re doing it.” Nick offers. Lance rolls his eyes.  
“Well, there hasn’t been any yelling or shattering, so I think it’s safe to say they’re ok.” JC comments.  
“One of us could knock and ask.” Brian suggests logically. All eyes are suddenly on him.  
“Bone?” he says, taking a step away. AJ shakes his head.  
“Did you hear something?” Chris asks, but Howie’s already heading for the door. Chris follows.  
“Can we help you?” he asks. At least Nick and Joey have the decency to look away.  
“Guess you were wrong, Sugar. No one seems to have been smothered and their clothes are still on.” Justin points out. Nick blushes and takes a step back.  
“I don’t want to know, do I?” Howie asks, with a puzzled expression.  
“Probably not.” Kevin grins.  
“Can we go back in now?” Chris pleads, tugging on Howie’s sleeve. Howie’s only reply is to close the door. They all get the hint and shuffle back to their own apartments. The next day is awkward, but not in a bad way, just in a things sliding back towards normal way. The following Saturday, when they head to the club, AJ offers to be the designated driver, and as such, sticks to drinking water and the occasional diet coke. JC notices, but in the way he notices most everyday things, in a kind of detached, absent-minded, oh, that’s interesting sort of way. It happens a few more times over the next weeks, as well. During those weeks, he starts ditching them after work, though he always, always makes sure to drive in with them. JC tries to ask where he’s going, in an overly casual way as not to spook him, but AJ always says something noncommittal. Finally, JC cracks, seeking out someone for an answer. He starts out looking for Howie, but he finds Kevin, sitting on the hood of his van, flipping through the morning paper, first, and settles. Joey’s at the gym, apparently. The troubled look about JC’s eyes makes Kevin slide over and pat the space beside him. JC does a little jump and a shimmy so he can sit, and Kevin thinks abstractly, it looks like a dance move.  
“So, what’s up?” JC shivers when Kevin’s eyes are on him, all that green omniscience seeming to look threw his too thin skin. He takes a deep breath, letting it out slow enough to gather his thoughts and Kevin waits, patiently. Then the words are spilling out of him like a dam breaking and he absently wonders where all that control he’s famous for has gone. When he’s done, Kevin takes less than thirty seconds to filter all that JC speak and boil it down to its most salient points.  
“Talk to him?” he finally offers. JC blinks. He thought Kevin would have had something far more elaborate to suggest.  
“That’s it?” his confused look slides on, as if it belongs there.   
“Should there be more?” Kevin is amused. JC shrugs.  
“Guess not. I’ll think about it.” He says finally sliding easily down and brushing at his jeans.   
AJ’s behaviour continues to be secretive for that week and at the end of it, on the Friday, after a night of Bowling and pizza and good friends, JC resolves to talk to his lover tomorrow. Unfortunately, fait has other plans and JC somehow manages to forget about talking to AJ in the morning before work and only remembers somewhere after lunch. He thinks he’ll try to opt out of clubbing, but in the end, there’s no need as everyone’s far too tired and they all head home. They all gather in Chris and Howie’s place for a little relaxation and somewhere in the middle of it, JC realizes AJ is gone. He pulls Howie aside.

“Yeah, he bailed a little after we got here. Weird he didn’t tell you, though.” Howie hums curiously.  
“Did he say where he was going?” JC asks and by the tightening of Howie’s mouth, he knows the answer. Howie doesn’t look like he’ll talk, though, and that only increases JC’s worry. With a nod, he makes his excuses and walks down the hall. Howie sometimes wonders if he’s secretly psychic or just more observant, because he thinks he’s the only one who has noticed what a ball of tension JC has turned into as of late. There was a brief time after JC and AJ got together when Howie didn’t think they’d work, something about the love of the art and the love of the artist keeping them always separate. Then, he had watched them flirt easily across the table from one another at lunch and he had known they’d make it. Their relationship, although based on mutual attraction and initial passion, had mellowed over time, into something deeper than duelling tongues, dominant personalities and the slick heat of completion. Somewhere along, it had turned into the true lasting kind of love, with a healthy dash of lust thrown in for spice.  
“Hey, what’re you thinking about?” and Chris is behind him then, unnecessarily pressing against his back and whispering in his ear. Momentarily, Howie is distracted. Chris is still on a touching jag as a result of the incident, and Howie revels in it, pressing back.   
“AJ and JC. I think they’re finally going to address what’s going on.” Chris comes around him and stares, confused.  
“What’s going on?” he asks. Howie chuckles.  
“You’ll find out soon enough, I’m sure.”  
AJ paces the floor in the apartment, a bottle in his hand. He thought he was over this, years ago, he thought he’d finally flung the monkey off his back and broken it’s bones, lest it try to scramble on and cling some more. And yet, somehow, here he is, the shakes down to his bones and he can’t seem to breathe properly. He’s seriously considering twisting off the cap and taking one sip, just one small, sweet mouthful, but thankfully, the door swings open and JC tumbles in, as if he didn’t realize the door was opening until the last possible second. AJ tries to laugh, but it comes out as more of a choked sound. JC takes one look at AJ and seems to pull strength up from his toes. He closes the door softly and crosses the space between them. He gently pulls the bottle from AJ’s now too slack hand. AJ watches as JC walks to the bathroom and empties the entire thing into the toilet, flushing it away calmly. Then, JC walks to the living room, Blinks a moment at the sound of wind or rain, he’s not sure, and seems to disregard whatever the weather is doing entirely, in favour of pulling open the window and chucking the bottle out. Only when he hears the satisfying smash from below does he turn. AJ notes that there’s more than rain water on his lover’s face. The shaking intensifies then, all his worst fears realized, and somehow, JC’s arms are around him, skinnier than AJ’s own, always too skinny, and yet, so much stronger. JC pulls gently and before he realizes it, AJ’s sitting on the couch with a lap full of JC. They don’t talk for a long time, just stay curled together on the couch, but then AJ shivers and they move to the bed with its warm blankets. AJ cries, a lot, cries and apologises and begs for forgiveness. JC tries to soothe the best he can, but the questions are still burning his tongue and finally he whispers into AJ’s hair.  
“How long? Why didn’t you tell me? I could have helped you, darling. You didn’t have to go it alone.” At first, AJ just cries harder, but when he’s all out of tears, he clings closer and begins to explain about how, long before they ever met, he had a problem and how Howie had gotten him help for it and how for a good little while there, he’d been fine. He’d been able to be around it and say no and even if he slipped a time or twelve, Howie had been the one who helped him try again. Then Howie had met Chris and AJ didn’t want to bother them and besides, for the most part, he’d still been fine. When he felt the cravings increase, that’s when he’d started attending meetings again. He said he didn’t want to taint JC, mar his perfection. JC simply pulls him tighter against him.  
“You’re far cleaner than I’ll ever be, Love.” And suddenly, JC’s talking about how if it hadn’t been for Justin, he wouldn’t be alive and how Lance had been the first to notice all was not well, but he’d been too scared of their new friendship to ask why it was that JC’s eyes always seemed to be a little glazed. Apparently Lance had asked Joey to talk to him, but JC wouldn’t listen to Joey, so Joey had told Justin to give it a shot. Justin stating firmly that if he didn’t get help, then he was dead to him was just the kick he’d needed and he’d finally admitted to himself and his friends and the people at the clinic that he’d had a problem. For a long time, they lay in bed, crying together. Then they make love, slow and easy, like coming home. By the morning, things are on their way to being good, maybe even better. They stay in all of Sunday, just reconnecting. On Monday, when Howie spots them walking hand-in-hand to lunch, he gives himself a mental pat on the back. Almost everything about that relationship is soft and strong. They argued soft and fixed each other soft and their love was strong enough for anyone who cared to take notice. When he finally makes it to the table, he gives them a smile. They would have returned it, if JC hadn’t been licking mustard off AJ’s wrist at the time.  
“Get a room, would you?” Lance chuckles. And just like that, things are back to normal.

The end.


End file.
